


Don't It Make You Feel So Fine

by punk_rock_yuppie



Category: Ready Player One (2018), Ready Player One - Ernest Cline
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domesticity, Don't Like Don't Read, Established Relationship, F/M, First Person, Fluff, Some weird mash-up of book and movie canon, Trans Female Character, Trans Samantha Cook, unprotected sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 00:44:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14344389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punk_rock_yuppie/pseuds/punk_rock_yuppie
Summary: “Well, Wade?” She asks, biting her lip. Her question is clear: do I wanna?Samantha keeps me on my toes.





	Don't It Make You Feel So Fine

**Author's Note:**

> so, if any of you read my last rp1 fic, you'll notice that i mentioned i hadn't read the book. well, this past week i remedied that, and i have to say i enjoyed the book a lot more than i ever anticipated. so! that somehow brought me here, to writing the first 'first person' fic i've written in at least a decade. 
> 
> this final version of the fic is so different from the original idea i set out to write, but i'm really pleased with how it turned out! it was fun to try first person, and it was fun to explore the trans samantha dynamic some more. i also had so much fun doing the song references n trying to nail wade's voice. 
> 
> also, like the tag says--this is some weird, non-specific mashup of movie canon and book canon. the main thing taken from the movie is samantha and wade getting an apartment together after everything, all of the high-five living in 1 city, and daito lives haha. 
> 
> anyway, big thanks to hannah (cathect) for beta'ing. 
> 
> hope you guys enjoy!

I’m right in the middle of slaying my way through an onslaught of simple-minded demons when a familiar chime echoes in my ears. It’s a simplified version of “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” (Pat Benatar, 1980, Chrysalis Records). Just a few of the beats, no words; it lets me know I have an incoming message from Samantha.

Before I can hit _‘answer’_ or _‘ignore_ , _’_ the message opens in the bottom left corner of my visuals, and Samantha’s face appears. Her hair is spread across the pillows from our bed, the mid-day sun glinting off her pale skin. Her cheeks are faintly flushed, and she grins at me.

I grin back, or rather my avatar does, and I start to speak. “Hey, listen, I’m with Aech—” _slaying some demons on that planet I was telling you about_. I don’t get to finish, because she cuts across me.

“I know,” she says softly. The camera in her hand tilts, and I do a double-take as I catch sight of her bare shoulders.

“Oh, shit,” I whisper.

 _“What is it, man?”_ Aech hollers over the com. I double check that he can’t hear Samantha’s message before replying.

“Uh, nothing, dude!” I turn sharply to my left and strike down a demon crawling toward me, reaching for me with a decaying hand. “Just got distracted!”

Aech laughs, and I figure it doesn’t matter that he can’t see or hear Samantha’s message. There’s really only one thing in the world that distracts me so much. _“Whatever, Z, get your head in the game! We’re almost done with this quest!”_ He shouts back, still chuckling.

“I’m on it!” I shout back even as I look at the square box still lingering in the corner of my visuals. Samantha’s grinning at me, wider and mischievous. The camera tilts again and reveals her free arm crossed over her breasts. Even though I can’t see anything _that_ scandalous, the freckled curve of her chest and the promise of _more_ leaves me dumbfounded long enough for a demon to start gnawing at my leg.

I lose a couple hit points before I snap out of the daze (not that it matters, invincible avatar and all). I shake off the demon and behead it, letting the meager amount of coins fall into my counter. “Samantha!” I hiss, running and taking cover behind a tree for a second.

“What, the great Wade Owen Watts can’t multitask?” Samantha asks. In the background, one song ends, and “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)” by Joan Jett (1981, Boardwalk Records) filters in. It’s faint, but seems to grows louder slowly, mostly as I forget what’s around me in favor of my girlfriend. I watch as Samantha moves on the bed— _writhes_ , more like it. My mouth drops open and the scenery of the planet practically fades away as I focus solely on Samantha.

Her arm across her chest moves for just a second, enough to give a glimpse of a pert nipple, before she covers herself again.

_“Do you wanna touch—do you wanna touch—do you wanna touch me there, where—”_

“Well, Wade?” She asks, biting her lip. Her question is clear: do I wanna?

“Samantha,” I whine.

She shrugs. “Up to you.”

She doesn’t disconnect the call like I expect. She’s waiting me out, instead. I know there won’t be any hard feelings if I choose to finish this quest with Aech; no one understands that better than Samantha. But I look her up and down (she helps by holding the camera far enough back that I can see her bare stomach, the curve of her hips) and know I’ve already made my choice.

“Aech!” I shout. I don’t even get a chance to explain.

 _“Screw you man!”_ But he’s laughing. _“I need to start blocking her calls!”_

Under my visor I feel myself blush. “We can tackle it later?”

Another square pops up, this time in the top right of my screen. It’s Aech, shaking his head. Familiar Cheshire grin in place, he waves me off. _“Nuh-uh, I got this. Go on and get some nookie.”_

My blush worsens and Samantha laughs. “Sorry, Aech.”

_“Whatever, man, I’m keepin’ this haul for myself.”_

I nod good-naturedly. It’s only fair. He disconnects the call and I check around for any demons trying to sneak up on me before logging out. Once I’m sure it’s safe, I hit the ‘logout’ option and yank my visor off so quick it leaves me dizzy. I get out of my haptic suit, probably quicker than I really should (it’s top of the line, it should withstand some of my more frantic movements, but even so) and topple out of the spare room.

When we first got a place together, Samantha and I both set up two, state-of-the-art rigs in the spare bedroom. It’s our OASIS room, separate from the rest of our lives. It’s nice to have the delineation from everything else, and it’s nice to be close when we’re in the OASIS together.

I burst into the bedroom, and Samantha is still sprawled across the bed. She grins at me and finally tosses the camera aside.

“Nice pucker marks, loverboy.” She teases. I look down and sigh at the red suction cup marks littering my skin from the haptic suit. I roll my eyes and stalk over to the bed. “No, really, I’m digging this ravished-by-an-octopus look you’ve got going on,” she gestures to all of me. “It’s really doing it for me.” Once I’m close enough she snaps at the waistband of my briefs.

I look her over now that I’m beside the bed; she’s still got one arm crossed over her chest, but I can tell it’s driving her crazy to keep it there. I look down and the teasing hint of her hips from before leads down to soft cotton underwear. I follow the lines of her body back up to her smiling face, her red hair framing bright eyes and freckled cheeks.

I crawl onto our bed with her as Joan Jett’s voice fades out. Twanging guitar takes her place, along with the soulful voice of Marvin Gaye. We both laugh as we stop and listen. Samantha says “1973,” and I follow her by saying “Tamla Records” through my laughter.

 _“Trying to hold back this feeling for so long… And if you feel like I feel, baby, then c’mon, c’mon_ — _let’s get it on.”_

Still laughing, Samantha moves to give me room; her arm covering her chest falls away and I take the opportunity to steal a glance. She catches me looking—hard not to, it wasn’t as though I was trying to be sneaky—and laughs. Her arms wind around my neck and pull me closer. She leans in and kisses a few of the uglier suction marks, then nips at them teasingly.

“What brought this on?” I ask as we maneuver ourselves. I slot myself between her thighs and help her squirm out of her cotton panties. They end up hooked around one of her ankles, but she doesn’t seem to care, so I don’t either. Her hands push at my briefs until they’re bunched around my thighs.

Samantha shrugs. “Woke up and you were already gone.” One of her arms unloops from my neck and reaches over to our bedside table. She digs out the lube and passes it along to me. “I tried by myself, but it just wasn’t as fun.”

My brain short circuits for a second, thinking of Samantha alone in our room, touching herself. Judging by Samantha’s devilish grin, that’s exactly what she planned for. I lean down and kiss her, and she pushes into it eagerly. Her nails bite into my back and her legs spread, knees against my hips as she cages me in.

Fumbling with the lube, I slick up my fingers and reach between us. She’s already a little wet, probably from doing it herself, but she sighs when my fingers sink into her. She nods, dazed and distracted; I don’t think she even realizes she’s doing it. I kiss her cheek and work my way to her mouth to bite at her lower lip. She giggles and writhes beneath me.

“C’mon, Wade,” she whispers urgently. I nod and smear the leftover lube across my dick, and Samantha curls her hand around my length too, knocking my hand out of the way. She strokes me slowly before angling me so that I can sink forward seamlessly.

As I push into her, her head drops back in a soundless cry. My own mind goes foggy, like it always does, but I keep my eyes open to watch her. She’s beautiful like this—she’s always beautiful, of course. But something about sex with Samantha is just… _incredible_. Her mouth drops open in a perfect ‘o’ shape and I sneak in to kiss the moans off her lips.

She grins into the kiss and nods, and I start to thrust. I pull out slowly and push forward fast, and her legs lock tighter around my hips each time. Her nails rake down my back and I shiver involuntarily. I fall forward and brace my elbows on the bed and use the leverage to thrust faster, harder.

Samantha is quiet during sex, but I think it’s hot; far better than any porn, with the exaggerated moans and fake expressions. Samantha is quiet and genuine. Her eyes flutter and her freckled cheeks flush bright pink. One of her hands finally lets up on my back and drops between us instead, to play with her clit.

She opens one eye and grins at me, letting out a low moan, _“Wade.”_ My name carries on the tone like a leaf on the wind and I groan, hips stuttering. I press my chest against hers and this time, Samantha shudders. Her breasts are soft against my chest, and I pull back just far enough to sneak a hand between our bodies. I tease my thumb over one of her nipples, cupping her breast in my hand.

Samantha whines softly. “Wade, I’m close.” She angles her head for a kiss and I oblige her, moaning myself when her tongue slips into my mouth. With another keening sigh, Samantha goes still in my arms. Her back arches, and she pushes against me. Her arm still wrapped around my neck tightens and her nails once more bite into my back. She moans, soft and stilted, as she comes down from her orgasm.

Her hand on my back shifts and cards through my hair instead. I tuck my face against her neck and sigh as my own orgasm sneaks up on me. My hips jerk a few final times as I come and I shudder, toes curling in our sheets, before finally sitting up.

Samantha smiles lazily at me as I pull out and grab a towel from our bedside table. I wipe the excess lube from between her thighs, then clean myself off. I toss the rag in the direction of our hamper, and Samantha just rolls her eyes.

“You should do laundry,” she admonishes as she opens her arms to me. We roll to lay on our sides, my arms around her waist and hers around my chest. “Although you do owe Aech for that BS move.”

I laugh and shake my head. “You’re awful, Samantha.”

She just grins. “You don’t mean that.”

“No, I don’t.”

We kiss for a while, slow and sweetly, and I realize whatever playlist Samantha set up has tapered off. The room is a little awkwardly silent without the soundtrack, but I lose myself in kissing Samantha instead of worrying about it.

She breaks the kiss after a few minutes and asks, “Have you eaten?”

“Just some nutrient bars.”

She leans back to free her arm from around my chest and flick my nose. “Those things are gross,” she chides, even though she lived off them for a while too. Or probably, that’s why she chides me now. I still can’t cook to save my life, but Samantha has a knack for it. “I’ll make us something, and then we can log in. Maybe tackle a quest together?”

I nod, and we roll away from each other and out of bed. I dig around for a pair of pajama pants, and Samantha slips on her favorite robe. It’s one of mine, and it’s too big on her, but it looks perfect. I catch her by the wrist as she starts to leave the bedroom and tug her in for a last kiss. “I’ll get the laundry going,” I promise against her lips.

She grins and pats my cheek sweetly, then turns and heads for the kitchen. As I meander around the bedroom to gather our various clothes, my phone starts to ring. I grab it off the dresser as I pass by and put it on speaker-video. Aech’s face floats in the hologram, and she grins.

“Lookin’ good, loverboy.”

“It’s still weird that you _both_ call me that,” I retort. It’s not the first time she’s seen me like this; she’s got a weird knack for calling me or Samantha post-sex, oddly enough. I’m not as embarrassed by my pale chest anymore, but I do double check that my pajama pants aren’t hanging too low.

Aech just shrugs, her shoulders popping into the view for a moment. “Yeah, yeah. You gonna jack back in soon?”

I bounce the wad of clothes in my arms, “Gotta do real people stuff first. Samantha’s cookin’, uh.” I check the time. “Brunch.”

“Lucky, lucky man,” Aech teases.

I grin. “Yeah,” I agree, well aware of how dreamy I sound. Aech scoffs again, but she’s smiling fondly. “We’ll log in in a bit. I’ll hit you up once we’re in, okay?”

“Sounds good, Z,” she salutes me, then drops the call.

I carry the laundry to the washer and dryer set tucked in beside the pantry in our apartment. Once a load is going, I wander out to the kitchen to find brunch nearly finished, and Samantha singing “I Melt with You” under her breath.

“1982, 4AD Records,” I murmur as I come up behind her. My hands find her waist and Samantha chuckles.

“Got it in one, ace.” She leans forward and turns off the stovetop. She gestures to the plates off to the side, both almost entirely dished up. I step back and give her room to push a couple slices of bacon onto each plate, on top of eggs and slices of fried potatoes. I grab both plates then nod towards the sliding door that leads onto the balcony.

Samantha follows me out after tucking the bathrobe tighter around herself. It’s spring, but on the hotter side. The chairs sitting on our little balcony are already sun-warmed, and we each sink into our usual spot. I set one plate in front of Samantha (the one with sunny-side up eggs) and hold my own aloft as I spear a bite of scrambled eggs and potato on my fork.

“What’s the game plan?” Samantha asks after a bit.

I shrug. “I told Aech we’d meet up once we logged in. I know she was wanting to tackle one of the championships on that horror planet she mentioned the other day. She might want us to tag along for that.” I shovel the last few bites of food into my mouth as Samantha watches, a piece of bacon between her fingertips and poised at her lip.

“Sounds good,” she says with a nod before taking a crunching bite of the bacon. “I need to stop by Benatar and stock up before we do.”

I grin. “Shouldn’t be a problem.” I relax into my chair and laze as Samantha finishes eating. The sounds of the city are quiet, but the air is fresh and the sun is still hitting us at just the right angle. I come out of my doze when Samantha pats my cheek, sharp and a little stinging. I gather the plates and follow her back into our apartment.

I wash the dishes and set them to dry, and when I finally get to our OASIS room, Samantha is in her haptic suit and pulling her hair back out of her face. She grins at me as I peel off the pajama pants and pull on my own suit. I’m more careful putting it on than I was tearing it off earlier.

I pull on my own visor and Samantha and the room disappears from view. Once prompted, I speak my passcode: _“But we’ve run out of things to say, and we’ll be happy anyway.”_

 

 

 

“You should’a seen him,” Aech teases me the next day. We’re at our usual spot for lunch, a neat little cafe down the street from mine and Samantha’s apartment. Aech has been regaling Sho and Daito with my behavior yesterday for a while now. Samantha had dropped by on her way to run errands, and fully backed up everything Aech has said so far.

That was a half hour ago, I’m still hiding my face in my hands.

Aech punches my shoulder affectionately. “S’cute, dude. Even if it did cost you some sweet loot.”

“I’ve got plenty of loot to spare,” I retort, sending titters of laughter around our table. Our food arrives and conversation finally dies down as we all dig into our food. After a while, when most of us are half-finished with our meals, Sho coughs. Awkwardly.

Daito shoots him a concerned look, and Sho shrugs. It takes a bit of needling from Aech and Daito both—I’m content to watch, needling isn’t really my thing—but eventually Sho lets out a long sigh. He falls forward and hides his face in is hands. When he speaks he’s muffled, but I manage to catch his words, even so.

“Is it weird?”

I lean closer, and even knowing what he asked, I still say, “what?”

Sho looks at me from between his fingers. “Is it weird?” He asks again, a little louder. Daito’s face immediately lights up in a blush, and Aech hides a snicker behind a hand. “I just…”

“No,” I say, interrupting Sho. I don’t make him elaborate; he looks embarrassed enough as it is. “It’s not weird, because I love Samantha. I love everything about her.” I can feel myself blushing as I speak, and Sho looks a little ashamed. “I don’t mind you guys teasing us—or me, you know. But…” I trail off as my train of thought just peters out.

Hands come to rest on my shoulders and I look up to see Samantha standing over me. “Loverboy,” she greets with a kiss to the crown of my head. She fistbumps Aech, and nods to Sho and Daito. “What were we talking about?” She comes around and sits in the chair beside me.

I open my mouth to make up some dumb topic, but Aech beats me to it. “Sho was askin’ Wade about your transition.”

A hush falls over the table for a moment, and I hold my breath. Slowly, Samantha faces Sho. Another beat passes (the song playing over the cafe’s speakers changes, but my brain is blank, even though it sounds familiar) before she asks, “what did you wanna know?”

 

 

 

When we get back to the apartment, Samantha rounds on me. “Something is making you weird. Spill.”

And I do; I couldn’t hide anything from her, even if I wanted to. Which I don’t. “I thought Sho asking about your transition might be…”

“Did I seem…?” She trails off, mimicking me. Her expression is a ninety-ten split of amused and annoyed. “Did I seem uncomfortable?” She asks, arms crossed over her chest expectantly.

I shake my head.

 

We’d spent most of the rest of lunch talking about her transition. Sho asked questions and Samantha answers almost all of the, save for a few she deemed just a little too personal. Sho looked embarrassed each time, and each time Samantha assured him she didn’t mind.

At the end of it, Sho admitted he met a girl in the OASIS who was in the process of transitioning, and he was nervous about asking her out.

That was a whole separate conversation, one Samantha promised Sho they could have more privately. They made plans to meet up in the OASIS later to talk about it, and that was that.

 

“I lost you.” Samantha waves her hand in front of my face as she speaks. When it’s obvious she’s got my undivided attention once more, she grins. “My transition is part of who I am, Wade.”

“I know,” I hurry to say. “I guess it just… didn’t really feel like my place to say anything.”

Samantha steps closer and our knees knock together. Her arms come to rest across my shoulders. “It isn’t your place,” she agrees.

“Oh,” I say.

She laughs and kisses my cheek. “My transition has been _my_ journey. That’s my story to tell. As for our sex life…” She tilts her head from side to side, as though she’s considering her words carefully. “I don’t mind the gang teasing us, either. But I don’t think they need the nitty gritty details. Do you?”

I shake my head again, then rest my forehead against hers. “No,” I say, just to be sure she knows.

Samantha giggles and leans up to kiss my forehead. “You feel better now?”

“Yeah,” I say, even as I feel silly. I wrap my arms around her waist and pick her up, drinking in her laughter. “You can’t keep distracting me from my quests, though. I can only take _so much_ of Aech’s teasing.”

Samantha snorts. “You could always try distracting _me_.”

I search her face for a hint of mockery or bluff, but her cheeks are pink and her grin is coy. “Challenge accepted,” I say as I kiss her.

**Author's Note:**

> (edited to add: if you don't like or agree with trans samantha, don't read! it's that easy. we're all (supposed to be) mature adults here. you're responsible for consuming content _you_ enjoy! i won't tolerate people whining about how trans samantha isn't canon, cuz it is to me!)


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